HONORING THOSE WHO HAVE BORNE THE BATTLE

Transcription

1 PRESENTQATTION BY Ronald Blackburn Moreno President and CEO ASPIRA Association at: SUMMIT HONORING HISPANIC VETERANS Corporate Prosperity Partnership San Juan, Puerto Rico November 2, 2006 HONORING THOSE WHO HAVE BORNE THE BATTLE I have often heard that we Latinos tend to honor ourselves and others too much, that we are constantly honoring the best corporations for Latinos, that we honor our writers, our poets, our artists and performers, our business leaders, our young people, our political and community leaders. We just finished Hispanic Heritage Month and for us in Washington, it seems that it was just one celebration after another in which each day we honored someone or some group for their work. Although I strongly believe we should honor our own, this may be true. But there is one group that we can never honor or celebrate enough, that stands out far above all others; those who have sacrificed so much, that have given so much -many their own lives- and that make us all even more proud to be Americans and Hispanics: the men and women who have worn the uniform of our armed forces and served their country. There is no gratitude that should be greater, no celebration more important, than that we owe our veterans. I am especially thrilled that this meeting is being held in Puerto Rico. As a Puerto Rican myself, I am particularly proud of the tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans that have served in our armed forces since the first world war, the thousands who served in every conflict since, and that even today are fighting -some giving their lives- in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their distinguished service and their sacrifice attest not only to their patriotism but to their sense of duty and honor. To them, and to all Hispanics who have served, my deepest appreciation. We cannot thank you or honor you enough. Hispanics have served with great distinction in every conflict the United States has participated in. From the Revolutionary war through World War 1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Desert Shield and today in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 200,000 served in World War 1, of which 18,000 were Puerto Rican. Close to a half a million served in World War 2, 150,000 in Korea, 80,000 during the 10 years of the Vietnam conflict and 20,000 during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, of which 1,700 were Puerto Rican. And Hispanics have died for this country in each of these wars, and in disproportionate numbers. That black granite wall in Washington the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, is 1

2 filled with names of Hispanics the González s, Pérez s and Santiago s for all over the country, who gave their lives in that war. Each day, as I review the roster of those who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot help but notice the high numbers of the fallen who are the Acevedo s, the Aponte s, Aguilar s, Baez s, Garza s, Medina s, Pérez s, Reyes and Vargas, and others from San Antonio, Brownsville, Fort Worth, Laredo and places like Granado, Texas, to the Bronx in New York City and towns like Unadilla and Oceanside in New York, to Tampa and Orlando in Florida and Cheyenne, Wyoming, Greensberg Kansas and Randolph Masschssettes, to right here in Puerto Rico. Of the over 2,300 soldiers killed in Iraq, 308, or almost 14% were Hispanic. In fact, out of this small Island, at last count, 18 Puerto Ricans have given their lives in Iraq, from cities like Bayamón, Carolina and Mayaguez, but also from towns like Rincón, Hormigueros, Juana Díaz, and Quebradillas. We must honor each and every one of them as we have honored our fallen in the past. The valor of Hispanics on the battlefield is unquestioned, and is indeed remarkable. A total of 39 Hispanics have received the nation s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, most posthumously. From the Civil War, were three foreign-born Hispanics were awarded the medal, to the Boxer Rebellion in China, where France Silva from California was awarded the medal, to World War 1 where David Barkeley from San Antonio demonstrated his valor, to the 13 Hispanics who won the medal in Word War 2, to the 8 in Korea and the 16 in Vietnam, Hispanics have distinguished themselves in battle for this country. Four Puerto Ricans are among this most select group, one in Korea Fernando Luis García from Salinas, and three in Vietnam Eurípides Rubio from Ponce, Héctor Santiago Colón form Salinas and Carlos James Lozada from Caguas- have received this honor. Let me just read the commendation for Captain Eurípides Rubio: Captain Rubio was serving as communications officer when a numerically superior enemy force launched a massive attack against the battalion defense position. Machinegun fire raked the area while mortar rounds and rifle grenades exploded within the perimeter. Leaving the relative safety of his post, Captain Rubio received two wounds as he braved withering fire to go to the area of most intense action where he distributed ammunition, re-established positions and rendered aid to the wounded. He unhesitatingly assumed command when a rifle company commander was medically evacuated. Captain Rubio was wounded a third time as he exposed himself to enemy fire to move among his men to encourage them to fight with renewed effort. While aiding evacuation of wounded personnel, he noted that a smoke grenade intended to mark the Viet Cong position for air strikes had fallen dangerously close to friendly lines. He ran to reposition the grenade but was immediately struck to his knees by enemy fire. Despite his several wounds, he scooped up the grenade, ran through the deadly hail of fire to within 20 meters of the enemy position and hurled the already smoking grenade into the midst of the enemy before he fell for the final time. 2

3 There are 38 similar acts of valor that have earned Hispanics the Medal of Honor, the two best know, Roy Benavides and Alfred Rascón from Texas. But the valor of Hispanics cannot only be noted by the number of Medal of Honor recipients. During the Second World War, the 141 st Infantry Regiment out of Texas suffered 7,000 casualties, and received three Medals of Honor, 31 Distinguished Service Crosses 500 Silver Stars and 1,700 Bronze Stars. Korean war, we all remember, the 65 th Infantry Division was made up exclusively of Puerto Ricans. The Borinqueneers won 9 Distinguished Service Crosses, 250 Silver Stars and more than 500 Bronze Stars, as well as five unit commendations for their valor. With these numbers and with these stories, don t anyone ever dare to tell me that Hispanics are not patriotic Americans, that they don t deserve a chair at the table, that they are somehow unworthy. In September of last year, there were almost 130,000 Hispanics on active duty, representing over 9% of active duty forces in the United States military; 14% of the Marines and almost 11% of the Army and this, in an all-volunteer military. Hispanics are the largest group in the military after whites. Even though we are not represented in the military in the same proportion as in the workforce, when we consider that over 40% of Hispanics do not have a high school diploma a requirement in most cases to join- we are well overrepresented. However, our general overrepresentation disguises the fact that we are well underrepresented among the higher ranks of the military. Only 4.9 % of the active duty officer corps in today s military is Hispanic. Regarding compensation, only 5 Hispanics or 1.3% are in pay ranges of O-8 and above, and there is not a single Hispanic in the top two grades. Only 21 of 410 or 4% are grade Warrant Officer W-5, the highest grade. However, 12% of E-4 and E-5 enlisted men are Hispanic. In the civilian military workforce, Hispanics make up only 6.6% and they are mostly at the G-01 to G-8 grades. There are only 18 Hispanics in the Senior Executive Service at DOE out of 1,205 or 1.5%. There is something wrong with this picture! I would venture to say, that some of the same mentality of discrimination that existed in 1949 exists today, perhaps in a less overt form, but discrimination nonetheless. In 1949, Private Félix Longoria, a Hispanic from Three Rivers Texas who was killed in action in the Philippines during World War II, was denied burial in his home town because he was Hispanic. It took the efforts of Dr. Héctor García, the legendary founder of the American GI Forum, and pressure from a future President, Lyndon B. Johnson, to finally ensure that Private Longoria, was not only buried with honor, but buried in the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. How can we best serve and represent our active duty military if DOD has such a low representation of Hispanics? Many will point out that there are Hispanic generals and I have personally known several in the Army and Marine Corps- and we see several Puerto Rican generals being honored right here -all retired now. But the numbers are meager, 3

4 considering our overall representation of Hispanics in the various branches. Why are these numbers so low? This definitely has to change! We need to realize that our contributions are not reciprocated by advancement and we must forcefully encourage DOD to step up to the plate and meet its commitment to the Hispanic community. How about our veterans? Today, there are over 1.1 million Hispanic veterans in the United States (as of 2006). These are men and women who served their country and for whom the best way we can honor them is not by speeches and dinners and plaques, but by providing these man and women, in appreciation for their service, the benefits and services to which they are entitled in the most generous and effective way. But we cannot serve our veterans well if the Department charged with caring for our veterans, does not reflect the community it serves. Why is this important? Because Hispanics must be at the table when issues related to the Hispanic community in the agency are discussed, when services and distribution of funds and other resources are made and when evaluations are made on the quality of service. If not, decisions are made without considering us, and hence, there is no accountability. The best way to serve our veterans, the same as our active duty and reserve Hispanics, is to have a Department, in this case the Department of Veterans Affairs, that reflects the veteran community and the community at-large. Just last June, the Office of Personnel Management reported that only 6.8% of the workforce of the Department of Veterans Affairs was Hispanic and I don t know if this includes Puerto Rico, where virtually all VA employment is Hispanic. Moreover, between 2001 and 2004, the percentage of Hispanic new hires at VA dropped from 7.6% to 7.0%. At this rate, Hispanics will never achieve equitable representation in the VA. According to VA web site, the percentage of Hispanics in the VA s quote SES Pipeline not the actual numbers of SES s has grown to 5.12%. VA's GS-14 and GS-15 grade level participation rate for Hispanics in 2003 was only 5.45%. There are the top two pre- SES grades. So not only is the overall representation of Hispanics low, the representation of Hispanics at the higher levels of the VA workforce is even lower. I have to recognize some efforts that the VA is making to increase the representation of Hispanics, if only to comply with the President s Executive Order on hiring of Hispanic Americans. But I would caution that with an extremely aggressive recruitment and advancement program, and with significant resources behind this program, the VA will be hard pressed to make even a dent in the numbers it currently has and have its workforce be more reflective of the community and country it serves. I am deeply moved when I am asked to talk about the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country in uniform, with dignity, honor, courage and sacrifice. As I said at the beginning, no amount of honoring, no amount of gratitude, is sufficient to express what they have done, and continue to do for us. Can we, at the very least, ensure that this service is reciprocated by ensuring that our community is represented and served as it truly deserves? 4

5 To the men and women we are honoring today, to our Hispanic veterans, my deepest personal gratitude to you. May God bless each and every one of you. Que Dios bendiga a cada uno de ustedes. Muchísimas Gracias 5